Kiss of Betrayal

In 2004 a movie directed by Mel Gibson took the theaters by storm. No one could have imagined the impact this movie would have. This movie was The Passion of The Christ. It has been said that the domestic total gross of the movie was $370,274,604.

I think a person would have to be made of stone to have watched this amazing account and not be broken, challenged and thankful.

The details of the crucifixion is found in several different passages in the scriptures.

I want to focus on a part of the last twelve hours of Christ leading up to the crucifixion, which is not always given a lot of thought. This act is the betrayal of a kiss.

Lets look at Matthew 26:48-49

48: Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he.Hold him fast.

49: And forthwith he came to Jesus and said hail master; and kissed him.

I mean, Judas was offering up to the enemy the man who was not only his friend, but was also his savior. Why would he call him master? Why would he choose a kiss to point him out?

To be honest, I wanted to go find Judas and hang him myself!

I was forced to look inside myself as I reflected on these actions. I couldn’t get that kiss out of my mind.

We are called to be the bride of Christ. I have been married a long time. I know a little something about what it means to be a bride.

I have had many co-workers, acquaintances and friends. I care about these people. With all of these relationships, I am only a bride to one. What kind of bride would I be if I didn’t share a more intimate, deeper relationship with my husband than I do with others in my life?

Let’s look at this in our spiritual relationship with our heavenly bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

How many times has the Lord tried to draw me into an intimate time of worship with him? How often has he longed for me to take time to sit at His feet and learn of Him through His word? Do I often put those times off and just play a praise song while I go about my business and call it worship? Do I just pick a verse out to quickly read on my way out of the door? In these ways, am I betraying my bridegroom by just offering up a quick “kiss” instead of realizing the importance of my time alone with Him?

The word betray means to prove faithless. Am I proving to be faithless when I don’t take the time to develop into the bride He is calling me to be?

Let’s be honest. There are always times when we must get things done. We can’t always spend as much time with the Lord as we would like. We all have things we must attend to. Like with marriage, some time away focusing on other things won’t hurt. It is when we allow it to become what’s normal for us that our relationship will suffer. I feel that as we determine to set this time aside for Him, He will redeem the time we need for the other day-to-day things we are all responsible for.

The word discipline is where we get the word disciple. We must learn to discipline ourselves to set aside time to read His word, listen to His voice, and worship Him. In this time alone, we will truly learn what it is to become one with Him. Let’s not betray His love with a quick kiss… let’s truly enter into the intimate relationship with Him that He has designed for all of us.

~Connie Robinson

© Andres Rodriguez | Dreamstime.com

Turning Over a New Leaf

Mark 11:13  And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything there-on: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves: for the time of fruit was not yet.

The figs were “not yet.” The fig tree is known as the hypocrite tree. The definition of hypocrite is actor, one who wears a mask. The reason the tree is called this is because it will be full of leaves with no fruit ready to eat. The fruit is hidden in the leaves until it becomes ripe. The tree looks good.

It doesn’t matter how holy we may look. Are we sometimes a pretty picture of leaves with no fruit? Do we really help anyone? Christains are to be known by their fruit. When Jesus came to the fig tree, He had a need. People have needs today. Many are spiritually hungry. They are looking for spiritual fruit, not religious nuts! We are to be instant in and out of season. This means we should be ready to help others in their time of need.

The Lord called unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou?  Genesis 3:9

Not only do we hide our “fruit.” We sometimes hide ourselves, so to speak. God knew where Adam was. He was not asking for himself. He was asking for their sake. He wanted Adam and Eve to realize where they were spiritually.

Genesis 3:10 tells us where they were. They were afraid, naked and hiding. Have your ever felt that way? It is time for us to take the masks off.  It is time to be real. We need to tell what God has brought us through. Not just when we first got saved, but last week! We can’t help others if we hide behind whatever our personal fig leaves are. We have no need to feel naked, afraid or like hiding.Let’s pray that God will help us turn over that new leaf today.

~Connie Robinson

Image Credit © Tammy Sanders

Things of Value

Lately I have been thinking about things that I value and realizing just because I have something doesn’t mean it’s of any value to me. Most of the time we spend more time on the things that have no value to us or our life. The things that should be of most value to us get neglected the most like our children, our marriage, and our friendships. We just take them all for granted.

I can remember being a child and hearing my grandma and mom saying, “It doesn’t matter if the house is dirty, you better make time for your kids, especially if they are sick.” I can understand that now that I have children of my own. The same can be said for your marriage. Just because you are married doesn’t mean to stop working on your relationship with your spouse. If you value it and think it’s important, then you will continue to put in the effort to keep it strong. Once you stop working on the valuable things, the value will start to decrease without you even knowing it. You could almost lose the things important to you…or it could be too late to fix them.

We can take that one step further with how we value God. We show God how much we value Him by how much time we spend with Him, praying or by spending time in His word. There are times when I feel ashamed because I know I am capable of giving Him more of my time than I do.  If we stop and really think how much God values us, who are we to deny Him? He sent His only son to die on the cross just for us. It doesn’t get more valuable than that.

Make sure you are making what’s valuable to you top priority in your life and don’t take it for granted.

~Michelle Parrish

 

Image credit:

SUN OVER THE WATER
© Remigiusz Oprzadek | Dreamstime.com

Consider the Miracles

Have you ever been reading a scripture and wished you could ask them what they were thinking?  That recently happened to me while reading the book of Mark chapter six. It is about the wonderful miracles the disciples witnessed Jesus do.  They had seen Him heal a withered hand. He had cast out unclean spirits. They saw a little girl raised from the dead when Jesus spoke to her. They had seen Him heal the woman with the issue of blood. They had witnessed Him calm a storm.  Imagine how they felt seeing Jesus feed five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish!

Later, Jesus had gone to a mountain to pray. Another storm comes up while the disciples are on a boat. The same men who had been walking with Jesus and witnessing His power become troubled.

~Mark 6:52: “For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their hearts were hardened.”

The definition of hardened here means dull, lacking in understanding. I wanted to ask the disciples how this could be possible with all of the miracles they had seen. Had they all just slipped their mind, really? I wished I could give them a piece of my mind!  Then it happened. I had a reality check.  How many times had I been guilty of the same thing?  God has done more miracles for me than I can count.  Over forty lumps in my breast disappeared over night. The Lord healed me of asthma. He miraculously healed me of cataracts. I was also healed of macular degeneration.  There has been much more I have seen Him do. How could I fall into fear and doubt when a new need arises?  I fail to remember the  “miracle of the fish and loaves “ in my own life.

Like the old song says, I will learn to count my blessings. Name them one by one. Count  your many blessings. See what God had done.

~Connie Robinson

Image Credit:

NIGHT STORM 2
©  Yanik Chauvin   | Dreamstime.com

Mama’s In The Kitchen

Most of us are familiar with the story found in John 6. It is about the miracle of the five barley loaves and two small fish. The crowd had been following Jesus, and it was getting late. They were all hungry. The only food there was the lunch of one small lad. The lad gave Jesus the lunch. Jesus took it and fed five thousand men. There was twelve baskets of food left over after. This is just one of the miracles they witnessed done by Jesus. He is still doing amazing miracles today.

The Bible says that the giver of the lunch was a lad. The definition of lad is a child, or a little boy. I want to go behind the scenes of this story.

There is a person who was a big part of this miracle process who is hardly, if ever, mentioned. The preparation for this miracle took place back at this child’s house. I haven’t met any little boys who bake bread or fry fish. I believe Mama was in the kitchen. She was busy cooking lunch for her son to take with him when he went to see Jesus. I can see her praying for her boy as she rolled out the bread. She must have asked God to use her son. Little did she know he would be used greatly that day.

He must have been taught about Jesus and who He was. He trusted Jesus to offer him his only food that day. All of us touch someone’s life. We must do our part to teach them of Jesus. We need to always be mindful to pray for those who are younger than us in The Lord. We may not be the one who is called to bring the word. We may not be the one who lays hands on those in the prayer line, but we all have a part to play. We are all needed to see God’s will accomplished. It doesn’t matter if I am the one frying the fish or a server. It doesn’t matter. I am determined to do my part to help others come to know Jesus. I want to help others see the miracle that HE is. The mother didn’t mind that she was home cleaning when the miracle of the loaves and fish took place. She was praising and thanking God that she had been obedient to do her part. She had helped advance The Kingdom of God!

~Connie Robinson

Image Credit:

COOKING TOOLS
© Michael Levy | Dreamstime.com

Hearing His Voice

Jesus often taught in parables to his followers. He could speak to anyone of any level. If he was talking to a farmer he talked about soil and seeds. When he talked to a fisherman, he would speak of nets, fish, and boats. When speaking to a woman, he would talk about sewing and house cleaning. When talking to a businessman, he would use stewardship. To a winemaker, he would discuss wineskins. Whatever or whoever you are the Lord wants to communicate with you.

I used to feel inferior or even jealous of other Christains when they said God spoke to them. I love the Lord, and I wanted to hear from him. I wanted to know what he was saying. It took a lot of trial and effort to figure it out. Because of religion, false teachings anmd doctrine of man, I was confused about how to hear from him. What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I hear him speak? Was  God angry with me? Wasn’t I holy enough? Did I pray and fast enough? All of these questions ran through my mind. I was just getting more confused. I read his word. I went to church. I prayed. What was wrong with me?

Sometimes we just have to stop and regroup. It wasn’t ever about me! The Lord desires for us to desire him more than anything else. He wants to commune with us. He wants all of us to hear his voice. I was listening to man. I was trying to do it their way. All of this time, God was waiting for me to tune out everyone else’s voice , even my own. He wanted me to just listen to him! I came to the realization that my relationship with him is a very personal one. I can’t be like everyone else. He doesn’t want me to be like anyone else. He created me uniquely. There is only one of me. He knows me inside and out. I don’t have to be like anyone else. I don’t have to measure up to anyone. I don’t need to do it like everybody else.

He wants to meet you just as you are. With all of our flaws, “isms” and “schisms”. Pslams 139 describes our uniqueness with the Lord. It’s our personal, intimate time with Him and your uniqueness that God loves. He made you just as you are – good, bad or indifferent. He loves you. You don’t have to be anybody but yourself. Man’s ways are not God’s ways. He knows exactly how to reach you and communicatre with you. We have to learn to listen to our hearts. God is a spirit. He speaks to our inner man. The real you. He speaks through his word, by his Holy spirit, the five fold ministry, his people, circumstances, and situations. We have to learn to hear his voice. It’s a process. It takes time. Sometimes we make mistakes. The main thing is to be teachable and open our hearts to him. He desires to communicate with us all on a real and personal level.

~Ricky Robinson

Kiss of Betrayal

In 2004 a movie directed by Mel Gibson took the theaters by storm. No one could have imagined the impact this movie would have. This movie was The Passion of The Christ. It has been said that the domestic total gross of the movie was $370,274,604.

I think a person would have to be made of stone to have watched this amazing account and not be broken, challenged and thankful.

The details of the crucifixion is found in several different passages in the scriptures.

I want to focus on a part of the last twelve hours of Christ leading up to the crucifixion, which is not always given a lot of thought. This act is the betrayal of a kiss.

Lets look at Matthew 26:48-49

48: Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he.Hold him fast.

49: And forthwith he came to Jesus and said hail master; and kissed him.

I mean, Judas was offering up to the enemy the man who was not only his friend, but was also his savior. Why would he call him master? Why would he choose a kiss to point him out?

To be honest, I wanted to go find Judas and hang him myself!

I was forced to look inside myself as I reflected on these actions. I couldn’t get that kiss out of my mind.

We are called to be the bride of Christ. I have been married a long time. I know a little something about what it means to be a bride.

I have had many co-workers, acquaintances and friends. I care about these people. With all of these relationships, I am only a bride to one. What kind of bride would I be if I didn’t share a more intimate, deeper relationship with my husband than I do with others in my life?

Let’s look at this in our spiritual relationship with our heavenly bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

How many times has the Lord tried to draw me into an intimate time of worship with him? How often has he longed for me to take time to sit at His feet and learn of Him through His word? Do I often put those times off and just play a praise song while I go about my business and call it worship? Do I just pick a verse out to quickly read on my way out of the door? In these ways, am I betraying my bridegroom by just offering up a quick “kiss” instead of realizing the importance of my time alone with Him?

The word betray means to prove faithless. Am I proving to be faithless when I don’t take the time to develop into the bride He is calling me to be?

Let’s be honest. There are always times when we must get things done. We can’t always spend as much time with the Lord as we would like. We all have things we must attend to. Like with marriage, some time away focusing on other things won’t hurt. It is when we allow it to become what’s normal for us that our relationship will suffer. I feel that as we determine to set this time aside for Him, He will redeem the time we need for the other day-to-day things we are all responsible for.

The word discipline is where we get the word disciple. We must learn to discipline ourselves to set aside time to read His word, listen to His voice, and worship Him. In this time alone, we will truly learn what it is to become one with Him. Let’s not betray His love with a quick kiss… let’s truly enter into the intimate relationship with Him that He has designed for all of us.

~Connie Robinson

What is Worship?

Breakthrough Worship

If you ask most people in churches today, their answer will be something like, “Oh, that’s when the band plays at the beginning of church services.” The Church has neutralized the true power of worship by lumping it into the phrase “Praise & Worship” and limiting the meaning just to music. Worship and praise are actually two very different actions that play distinctly different roles in our lives.

The word for worship in the Hebrew is shachah and in Latin it’s proskyneo. Both words mean to bow down and prostrate one’s self in reverence: to physically lower yourself as an admission of your own lowliness in the presence of One So Holy. Another definition is “to kiss the hand as a dog licks its master’s hand” as a show of respect. Another is to perform obeisance, which is the word for when a servant bows or curtseys before a superior.

The thing is, we Charismatics get all caught up in praise and forget about the worship. We love to shout and sing and dance and clap. We love to celebrate our victory. More than likely, half the people reading this article could probably tell me the Seven Ways to Praise right now. We know all about using praise to help our faith through trials and tests. We know all about the time Paul and Silas got thrown in jail and, at midnight, started to sing, pray and praise God until an earthquake literally set them free. Just makes you want to shout, “Hallelujah!” doesn’t it? We love to hear those stories of breakthrough praise!

But what we don’t really know much about, what we don’t have very much teaching on or experience with, is the breakthrough that comes in worship. The number one thing that stops most of us from being all that God has called us to be and fulfilling all of the call of God on our lives, is our unwillingness to admit that we can’t do it by ourselves. We are incapable of doing anything good apart from God’s grace, mercy and anointing. When we worship, we remind ourselves of our inequity and of God’s perfection. In worship, we admit our inabilities and our need for God’s power. Through worship, we see very clearly how small we are and how great He is.

In the year King Uzziah died, the prophet Isaiah received a glimpse into what worship looks like in Heaven when he saw and heard the seraphim calling, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isa 6:3 NIV). Isaiah immediately recognized his unworthiness and cried out, “Woe is me!” True worship is all about humility, focusing on the greatness and holiness of God rather than fixating on our problems or making excuses for ourselves. When we worship and really focus on who God is, we automatically realize just how in need of a Savior we are.

When we worship, we see God for who He is, and the sight of Him always marks us. It shames us. It scares us. It overwhelms us. But then He gives grace to the humble and He exalts us in due time. So when it’s all said and done, worship enables us to breakthrough our pride, self-sufficiency and fear and helps us boldly say, “Here am I: send me.”

Most of us already know that we aren’t capable of doing what God called us to do, but we still try to wear our façades in front of people and soldier along doing the best we can. Our façades, however, cannot stand up in the presence of God. True worship requires us to tear down those false images of ourselves and learn to rely on Him for everything. This is what Paul was talking about in 2 Cor 12:9 when he said “[God’s] strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Do you need a breakthrough in your life? Press into times of worship and allow God to reveal His greatness. He is truly all you need.

~by Anessa Back

I’ve got the power!

I was driving home one evening while listening to news on the radio. A new segment came on about a representative from a lobbying group. The lady was making a statement of how the newly drawn voting districts for her state were unfair because the majority political class had restructured the voting districts, in her opinion, to favor themselves. She said the new districts were very partisan in nature. Now the statement she made may have some legitimacy, however…the current voting districts were also drawn by the previous political party to favor themselves as well.

I just shook my head and said, “The ones in power are in power.” And then Holy Ghost suddenly opened my eyes! The ones in power ARE in power! Let me elucidate.

For the lady being interviewed, she was not upset about the previous redistricting zones because she was in agreement with those who had been in power at the time they were drawn. However, now that a new group of people are in charge, THEY now have the power to change the situation into one that is favorable for them. The woman was really not upset about the “fairness” of the bill but about the people of power, with whom she didn’t agree, exercising their power.

God has endued us with power through Holy Spirit. Luke 24:49 says, “ And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” In this scripture, Jesus is prophesying the outpouring of Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. If you have received the baptism of Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, you my friend are endued with power! You’ve got the power! But just because you have the power does not automatically mean you ARE in power.

See, the political class in power could have left the voting zones just as they were, favoring the opposing party. If they had done so, they would have abdicated their position of power and given a victory to their opponents. How often have we done just that?! God has endued you with power but are you exercising that power? How often are you praying in tongues, edifying your spirit man?

We have some rezoning to do in our spiritual lives. Your spirit has the power to change the old, twisted zones of your life, but you have to exercise that power to enforce the will of the One in charge! God longs for us to walk in ALL the power with which He has endued us. So pray in the spirit and enter into the revelation that  you, the one in power, is in power!

Rise Up Strong! (part 2)

“For all that will be accomplished in the spirit in this time of seeking shall be manifested in the natural realm for all to see, and then you’ll rejoice. But why don’t you just go ahead and rejoice right now?” saith the Lord. “Why don’t you just go ahead and rejoice in advance? For if you believe My Word and if you believe what I have said, then you’ll go ahead and begin to rejoice even this night.” Hallelujah!

“Some of you have been so pressed down, but now there’s going to be a lifting up. You have been so pressed down, but now there’s going to be a freedom. Your feet have been bound in shackles, but now you are kicking them off! [For you will be] as Paul and Silas who, in the midst of their bonds, began to pray and to sing praises unto God and an earthquake came and the bonds were loosed! And guess what? Not only were they loosed, but all the other prisoners were loosed also! So you see, this is about you getting loose, but not you getting loose just for you.  It’s for all the other prisoners around you who have never been loosed but are going to be set free also.”

“For you see, I the Lord have said, ‘It’s enough!’ I the Lord have said, ‘Enough!’ I the Lord have said it, even like I did when Goliath was coming out on the hillside and threatening and blaspheming My Name and threatening my people. He went out there for forty days, but his forty days came to an end. I gave him a space, but after that space of time, I said, ‘This is enough!’ And I say to you tonight that I the Lord have said, ‘It’s enough!’”

“It’s not good enough just for Me to say it,” saith the Lord, “but I want you to say, ‘It’s enough!’ And if you’ll say what I say, then I declare that you will be as David. You will have the proper tools that you need. You will have the weaponry. You will have the armor, and you will bring down the giant! Not only will you bring him down, but you will remove his head from his body so that he never is able to rise again!”

Somebody ought to praise the Lord! Hallelujah.

“For darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people, but it’s your time to rise and shine,” saith the Lord, “for thy light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. And it will be with you even as it was with the children of Israel when all the darkness came over the land of Egypt, but in the house of the righteous, in the house of the children of God, there was always light. The darkness of this world will not penetrate your life. It will not penetrate your house, for I have hid you,” saith the Lord. “I have hidden you in the cleft of the rock. So, don’t expect what’s coming on the world to come on you. Don’t expect what’s going on in the economy to come on you, because you’re not like the world. I have called you out of the world and I need you for such a time as this. I need your faith. I need your supply. I need your anointing. I need your spirit. I need the gifting that I’ve put in you. I need you to rise and shine,” saith the Lord, “and you can do it tonight because it is My Word and My Command! For you see, there’s a restoration of the anointing to pray and to birth and travail, but [there is] also [an anointing] to rise up and to take your place and take your authority!”

Prophecy given by Apostle David Coker, September 12, 2011

Illustration by Andy Coker. Visit Andy’s site to see more of his drawings: http://www.sketchwell.blogspot.com/